I  Pi 

595 


1 


HOMEWARD 


THROUGH  AMERICA 


BY 

A  FELLOW  OF  THE  ROYAL  SOCIETY  OF  LITERATURE 


CHICAGO: 
POOLE  BROS..  PRINTERS  AND  ENGRAVERS. 


PRESENTED  WITH  THE  COMPLIMENTS  OF  THE  BURLINGTON  ROUTE. 

WM.  FLEMING,  Agent,  22-4  Clarence  St.,  Sydney,  N.  S.  W. 

HARRY  H.  HAYR,  Agent,  13  Lower  Queen  St.,  Auckland,  N.  Z. 

W.  D.  SANBORN,  General  Agent,  32  Montgomery  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

T.  0.  McKAY,  Pacific  Coast  Passenger  Agent,  32  Montgomery  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 


COPYRIGHTED,  1892,  BY  J.  FRANCIS. 


ACCESMo. 
UBRABV 


flMNCftOFT 

JUL  25.1938 


HOMEWARD  THROUGH  AMERICA. 


CROSS  the  New  World  in  a  Pullman  car!  Three 
*  thousand  six  hundred  miles  —  as  far  as  from 
New  York  to  Copenhagen  or  London  to  the 
Congo — in  a  palace  on  wheels!  Across  ten 
States,  and  every  State  an  empire!  Through  the 
vineyards  and  orchards  of  California  and  the  vast  corn  and 
wheat  fields  of  the  wealth-producing  Mississippi  Valley; 
through  the  gloomy  defiles  of  the  mighty  Sierra  Nevada, 
and  right  over  the  frowning  battlements  of  the  still  mightier 
continental  divide;  through  the  fair  and  fruitful  valley 
where,  girt  about  with  solemn  mountains  and  watered  by  a 
second  Jordan,  stands  the  pseudo  Zion  of  the  modern  Sodom- 
ite; through  cities  whose  rise  to  commercial  supremacy 
constitutes  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  age;  by  the  margin  of 
those  great  lakes  in  which  is  stored  nearly  half  the  fresh 
water  on  the  globe,  and  in  almost  any  one  of  which  a  German 
grand  duchy  or  the  principality  of  Wales  would  make  but  a 
respectable-sized  island;  and  the  brink  of  the  world's  only 
Niagara,  and  along  the  banks  of  the  American  Rhine! 

Such  were  the  reflections  of  the  writer  as  he  arose  from 
the  perusal  of  a  United  States  map  and  railway  guide,  by  the 
aid  of  which  he  had  been  endeavoring  to  determine  what 
were  the  inducements  to  return  from  Australia  to  England 


4  HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA. 

by  way  of  America,  and  which  of  several  practicable  routes 
offered  the  greatest  advantages  in  attractive  natural  scenery 
and  places  of  interest  generally.  That  he  had  every  reason 
to  be  satisfied  with  the  decision  he  finally  came  to,  the  fol- 
lowing narrative,  written  after  the  conclusion  of  the  journey, 

from  notes  made  during  its  course, 
is  designed  to  show.  His  choice 
was  that  great  trans-continental 
system  known  as  the  Burlington 
Route,  a  system  which,  with 
its  allied  lines,  extending  from 
coast  to  coast,  seemed  to 
'  embrace  a  greater  number 
of  those  places  of  interest 
which  all  overland  travelers 
wish  to  visit  than  could 
^^^^  conveniently  be  reached 
by  any  other  route,  and  gen- 
erally to  afford  more  abundant 
opportunity  for  intelligent  observation,  not  only  as  to  the 
physical  features  of  the  country,  but  with  regard  also  to  its 
immense  and  varied  resources,  whether  developed  or  unde- 
veloped. 

Making  it  almost  his  first  business  after  landing  at  San 
Francisco  to  call  at  the  Burlington  passenger  office,  32 
Montgomery  street,  the  writer  found  himself  enabled,  some- 
what to  his  surprise,  not  only  to  map  out  with  great  facility 
a  programme  for  his  entire  tour  on  the  American  continent, 
but  also  to  get  a  railway  ticket  that  would  carry  him  through 
to  New  York,  with  the  privilege  of  breaking  his  journey 
wherever  he  chose,  and  even  to  have  his  luggage,  or  baggage 
as  it  is  called  in  America,  "checked"  through  to  the  same 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA.  5 

objective  point,  that  he  might  be  entirely  freed  from  further 
care  concerning  it.  He  found  the  office,  in  fact,  a  complete 
tourist  agency.  Had  he  wished  to  visit  Monterey  or  the 
Yosemite  Valley,  before  starting  on  his  trip  across  the  con- 
tinent, he  could  have  procured  his  ticket  here,  and  had  the 
time  at  his  disposal  admitted  of  his  taking  a  trip  to  the 
Yellowstone  National  Park,  that  pleasant  excursion  might 
likewise  have  been  arranged  for.  The  fullest  information 
relative  to  his  prospective  journey  was  furnished  him; 
indeed,  the  way  in  which  the  long  string  of  questions  with 
which  he  had  primed  himself  were  one  by  one  anticipated 
satisfied  him  that  he  was  in  the  hands  of  those  who  regarded 
the  mere  booking  of  a  passenger  as  the  least  part  of  their 
duty.  In  the  light  of  subsequent  experience  it  seems  as 
though  nothing  that  could  have  contributed  to  the  comfort 
and  pleasure  of  the  journey  was  overlooked  by  the  com- 
pany's representative,  to  whose  efficiency,  thoughtfulness 
and  courtesy  such  emphatic  and  ungrudging  testimony  has 
been  borne  by  the  Marquis  of  Normanby,  the  Hon.  James 
Service,  Sir  Charles  Lilley,  Bishop  Harper  and  other  distin- 
guished English  and  Colonial  travelers,  whose  letters  on  the 
Burlington  Route  are  published  in  the  company's  Red  Book. 
Two  days  in  San  Francisco  allow  but  little  time  for  sight- 
seeing, after  the  perfecting  of  one's  arrangements  for  cross- 
ing the  continent.  A  drive  to  Golden  Gate  Park,  with  its 
beautiful  conservatory,  and  the  Cliff,  with  its  colony  of  sea- 
lions;  an  hour  on  the  cable  cars,  first  along  California  street, 
past  the  handsome  residences  of  the  mining  kings,  and  then 
to  Telegraph  Hill,  for  the  best  general  view  of  the  city,  bay 
and  surrounding  country;  and  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  a 
stroll  through  the  Chinese  quarter,  with  its  shops,  gambling' 
houses,  opium  resorts,  temples  and  theaters,  just  as  they  are 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA. 

seen  in  China  (a  trip  not  to  be  undertaken,  however,  except 
in  company  with  a  detective),  and  we  hasten  to  pack  up 
our  only  remaining  piece  of  luggage — a  Gladstone  bag  or 
small  portmanteau  —  and  are  soon  on  our  way  to  the  ferry, 
where  a  transfer  steamer  is  waiting  to  convey  us  across  the 
bay  to  Oakland,  a  beautiful  suburban  town  and  the  terminus 
of  the  railway. 

As  we  cross  the  far-famed  bay,  the  towers  and  spires  of 
the  great  metropolis  meanwhile  growing  fainter  and  fainter, 
our  thoughts  revert  perchance  to  the  checkered  and  romantic 

history  of  this  renowned 
'    State.    We  call  to  mind 
the    early   explorers  who 
.  JS^PjlifX  Visited  it— the    Portuguese 

Vi»   /      Uf        J  ^£n    1     /^-f.'-     i 

Cabrillo,  in  1542,  and  our 
own  Drake,  in  1578— the 
fe     arrival  of  the  Franciscan 
missionaries,  two   cen- 
turies  later;    how  Mexico 
~^=-=~   threw  off  the  yoke  of  Spain, 
only  to  have  to  surrender  her  fairest 
provinces  to  the  United  States  ere  a  single 
generation  had  passed  away;  the  discovery 
of   gold,    and   the    excitement,    absolutely 
1  without   parallel,  for  which  it  was  the   signal,    a 

quarter  of  a  million  frenzied  men,  of  all  classes  and 
nationalities,  braving  the  most  terrible  perils  and  privations 
to  reach  the  new  El  Dorado,  and  even  United  States  troops 
deserting  en  masse  to  join  in  the  pursuit  of  gold;  the  long 
rule  of  the  very  worst  elements  of  society;  with  the  final 
establishment  of  law  and  order,  ushering  in  that  splendid 
period  of  material  prosperity  of  which  we  are  the  witnesses, 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA.  7 

and  in  which  the  State,  advancing  concurrently  upon  various 
lines  of  progress,  each  of  boun'dless  possibilities,  has  drawn 
upon  herself  the  attention  and  admiration  of  the  world. 

But  these  musings  are  suddenly  put  an  end  to  by  the 
bustle  and  excitement  consequent  upon  the  steamer's 
arrival  at  Oakland  pier,  where  the  passengers  pass  at  once 
to  that  imposing  structure  which  serves  the  double  pur- 
pose of  ferry-house  and  railway  station.  Here  the  great 
overland  train,  with  its  long  line  of  drawing-room  sleeping 
cars,  awaits  us. 

Our   railway  tickets  already  secured,  and   our   luggage 


checked  through  to  New  York  by  that  admirable  system 
which  our  own  railway  managers,  learning  of  the  Americans 
in  so  many  things,  have  yet  been  so  slow  to  adopt,  we  at 
once  take  the  places  engaged  for  us,  and  punctually  to  the 
moment  the  train  draws  out  of  the  station  and  our  great 
transcontinental  journey  is  begun. 

As  though  loth  to  leave  this  most  beautiful  coast,  the 
train  follows  for  a  considerable  distance  the  devious  shores 
of  the  bay;  in  fact,  it  has  to  be  carried  bodily  across  the 
straits  of  Carquinez,  twenty-eight  miles  from  its  starting 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA. 

point,  before  it  can  bring  itself  to  bid  a  final  farewell  to  the 
blue  waters  of  the  Pacific.  The  transfer  boat  Solano,  by 
which  it  is  conveyed  from  Port  Costa  to  Benicia,  is,  it  is 
said,  the  largest  in  the  world,  being  constructed  to  carry 
forty-eight  cars  and  two  engines  at  one  time.  The  facility 
and  expedition  with  which  the  transfer  is  accomplished  are 
certainly  remarkable,  and  well  worth  leaving  the  car  for  a 
few  moments  to  observe  more  closely. 

Never  a  lover  of  the  prize  ring,  the  writer  trusts  he  may 
be  pardoned  for  the  confession  that  for  twenty-eight  years 
this  pleasant  little  town  of  Benicia  has  been  associated  in  his 
mind  with  the  name  of  John  C.  Heenan,  whose  memorable 
encounter  with  the  redoubtable  Sayers  produced  so  great  a 
revulsion  of  feeling  throughout  England  that,  if  indulgence 
in  the  so-called  sport  has  not  been  entirely  put  a  stop  to  by 
the  vigilance  of  the  police,  at  least  the  moral  sense  of  the 
nation  is  no  longer  outraged,  as  is  still  unhappily  the  case  in 
America,  by  highly-wrought  descriptions  of  such  demoraliz- 
ing exhibitions  appearing  in  the  public  journals. 

But  the  Benicians  of  to-day  felicitate  themselves  upon 
something  better  than  the  achievements  of  their  pugilists. 
Their  town  is  making  rapid  progress,  both  in  commerce  and 
manufactures,  and  their  county  is  a  part  of  the  great  Sacra- 
mento Valley,  one  of  the  most  productive  regions  of  the 
State.  Crossing  this  valley  diagonally,  a  distance  of  some 
seventy-five  miles,  one  is  enabled  to  judge,  not  only  how  im- 
mense, but  how  varied  also,  are  the  agricultural  interests  of 
California.  Vasts  tracts  of  country  devoted  to  grain  are 
succeeded  by  extensive  areas  occupied  by  vineyards  and 
orchards.  The  State  which,  in  less  than  forty  years,  has  pro- 
duced gold  to  the  value  of  ^250,000,000  besides  silver  and 
lead,  and  is  still  yielding  three  and  one-half  times  as  much 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA.  9 

as  the  richest  and  most  active  of  her  rivals,  is  now  producing 
enough  wheat  to  supply  the  wants  of  half  the  population  of 
Great  Britain,  besides  40,000,000  pounds  of  wool  annually, 
25,000,000  gallons  of  wine  (a  product  soon  to  drive  out  of  the 
country  the  high-priced  and  too  frequently  sophisticated 
wines  of  Europe ),  thousands  of  car  loads  of  the  choicest  table 
fruits,  and  other  valuable  products  that  cannot  here  be  even 
enumerated. 

On  the  Sacramento  river,  which  waters,  rather  than  drains, 
this  beautiful  valley,  eighty-nine  miles  from  San  Francisco, 
is  Sacramento  city,  the  capital  of  the  State.  Sacramento  is 
but  a  small  city  in  comparison  with  San  Francisco,  but  it  is 
worthy  of  note  that  in  only  eight  States  of  the  Union  is  the 
commercial  capital  or  most  populous  city  the  seat  of  the 
State  government.  Night  coming  on,  we  see  but  little  more 
of  the  valley,  or,  indeed,  of  the  State.  When  we  look  out 
in  the  early  morning,  it  is  upon  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Sierras,  which  have  been  crossed  during  the  night  by  the 
Donner  Pass,  at  an  elevation  of  7,042  feet  above  mean  sea- 
level.  Travelers  desiring  to  cross  the  mountains  by  daylight 
may,  however,  leave  San  Francisco  by  a  morning  train  and 
take  the  overland  at  Truckee  or  Reno.  This,  the  writer  was 
informed,  is  frequently  done,  in  connection  with  a  trip  to 
Lake  Tahoe,  fourteen  miles  south  of  Truckee,  where  there  is 
said  to  be  fine  trout  fishing,  as  there  is  also  in  the  beautiful 
Truckee  River,  whose  course  the  line  follows,  through  ever- 
changing  scenery,  for  many  miles. 

Although,  like  California,  Nevada  has  been  a  great  pro- 
ducer of  the  precious  metals,  its  general  appearance  pre- 
sents about  as  great  a  contrast  to  that  of  the  Golden  State 
as  can  well  be  imagined.  But  if  its  arid  plains  yield  only 
sagebrush  and  greasewood,  and  if  hour  after  hour  the  train 


10 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA. 


pursues  its  way  through  glistening  fields  of  alkali,  destitute  of 
even  the  lowest  forms  of  vegetation,  the  soil  is  not  by  any 
means  so  hopelessly  sterile  nor  is  the  country  so  uninterest- 
ing to  travel  through  as  such  conditions  would  seem  to  imply. 
All  that  is  wanting  to  convert  the  desert  into  a  garden  is 
water;  for  where  irrigating  works  have  been  constructed  and 
the  soil  has  been  cultivated  the  average  production  per  acre 
will  not  suffer  by  comparison  with  that  of  the  most  favored 
States  in  the  Union — at  least  so  it  appears  from  recent 
reports  of  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
which  the  writer  has  had  an  opportunity 
of  perusing.  The  desert,  for  such  it 
is  properly  denominated,  possesses 
all  the  well-known  characteristics 
of  the  famous  deserts  of  the  world, 
in  its  burning  sand,  its  alluring,  lake- 
simulating  deposits  of  alkali  and 
its  deceitful  mirage ;  but  it  is 
one  thing  crossing  on  the  fjack 
of  a  camel,  or  even  in  a 
prairie  schooner,  and  quite  an- 
other in  a  Pullman  car,  with 
a  well-appointed  dining  car  in 
constant  attendance.  The  elements 
of  physical  suffering — want  and  fatigue — and  of  mental  an- 
guish— disappointment  and  fear — have  been  wholly  elim- 
inated from  the  journey.  All  else,  however,  remains,  and 
the  crossing  of  the  Great  American  Desert  is  none  the  less 
interesting  and  impressive  for  having  been  rendered  safe, 
rapid  and  even  luxurious.  Not  the  least  remarkable  feature 
of  the  region  traversed  by  the  railway  is  the  Humboldt  River, 
which,  after  a  course  of  no  less  than  380  miles,  vainly  seeking 


ROYAL    GORGE, 

GRAND      CANON,      COLORADO. 
BURLINGTON      ROUTE  —  "  SCENIC      LINE, 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA.  II 

an  outlet  from  the  Great  Basin,  gives  up  the  task  in  despair 
and  buries  itself  in  the  sand,  within  plain  view  of  passing 
trains. 

After  a  run  of  460  miles  or  thereabouts  across  the  State 
of  Nevada — by  no  means  the  largest  State  in  the  Union — we 
enter  the  Territory  of  Utah,  always  associated  with  the  Great 
Salt  Lake,  Salt  Lake  City  and  the  Mormons.  Not  to  go  too 
much  into  detail,  a  Territory  may  be  said  to  be  a  State  in 
embryo.  It  is  not  represented  in  the  United  States  Senate, 
its  delegate  in  the  House  of  Representatives  has  no  vote, 
and  its  governor  and  other  principal  officers  are  appointed 
by  the  President,  instead  of  being  elected  by  the  people,  as 
in  the  various  States. 

Seventy-five  miles  beyond  the  Territorial  line,  there 
comes  into  view,  to  remain  a  prominent  object  for  the  next 
hundred  miles,  that  mysterious  inland  ocean,  the  Great  Salt 
Lake.  Another  hour's  ride  and  we  reach  Promontory  Point, 
where  was  drive:.,  on  May  10,  1869,  the  last  spike  of  the  first 
transcontinental  railway.  So  rapidly  do  the  triumphs  of 
skill  and  enterprise  follow  one  another  in  this  progressive 
age,  that  we  can  hardly  believe  that  but  little  more  than  a 
score  of  years  ago  the  magnificent  region  lying  between  the 
Sierras  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  was  entirely  without  railway 
communication  with  the  rest  of  the  continent,  shut  out  by  a 
lofty,  snow-clad  range  of  mountains  and  500  miles  of  dreary 
desert. 

The  arrival  of  the  train  at  Ogden,  833  miles  from  San 
Francisco,  marks  the  completion  of  the  first  stage  of  the 
overland  journey.  Here  passengers  for  the  Yellowstone 
National  Park  change  cars,  and  the  east-bound  traveler  sets 
his  watch  forward  one  hour.  Formerly  every  important  town 
and  city  kept  its  own  true  solar  time.  That  arrangement, 


12 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA. 


however,  was  attended  with  so  much  inconvenience  to  the 
traveling  public,  besides  seriously  complicating  the  opera- 
tion of  the  great  railway  systems  of  the  country,  that  in 
1883  the  continent  was  divided  into  five  longitudinal  zones, 
governed  by  standard  meridians  fifteen  degrees  (equivalent 
to  an  hour's  time)  apart.  One  result  of  that  useful  reform 
is,  that,  instead  of  there  being,  as  formerly,  a  change  of  forty- 
two  minutes  at  Salt  Lake  City,  one  of  twenty-nine  minutes  at 
Denver,  and  so  on  all  the  way  across  the  continent,  there 


are  now  only  three  changes  of  time  between  San  Francisco 
and  New  York,  a'nd  those  are  of  one  hour  each. 

It  is  but  thirty-six  miles  from  Ogden  to  Salt  Lake  City, 
and  almost  before  we  are  expecting  it  our  train  is  running 
right  down  the  middle  of  one  of  the  broad  avenues  of  the 
City  of  the  Saints.  Mr.  Phil.  Robinson  declares  that  of  all 
the  cities  he  has  been  called  upon  to  describe,  none  ever 
puzzled  him  so  much  as  this  Latter-Day  Jerusalem.  It  is 
not  usually  included  among  the  cities  which  are  said,  each 
of  them,  to  be  unique;  but  it  certainly  has  as  good  a  claim 
as  any  to  be  so  regarded.  What  other  city  has  so  magnifi- 
cent a  range  of  snow-capped  mountains  overshadowing  it? 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA.  13 

It  is  Denver's  proud  boast  that  she  has  300  miles  of  the 
cloud-piercing  Rockies  visible  from  her  windows,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  they  are  seen  to  advantage  only  from  certain 
special  points  of  observation,  while  they  are  also  at  a  much 
greater  distance  from  the  city  than  are  the  glistening  peaks 
of  the  Wahsatch  Range  from  the  streets  of  the  modern  Zion, 
above  which  they  soar  9,000  feet,  or  13,000  feet  above  sea- 
level.  Where,  again,  is  to  be  found  so  remarkable  a  group 
of  buildings,  at  least  of  modern  construction,  as  the  Mormon 
Tabernacle,  Temple  and  Assembly  Hall,  entirely  regardless 
of  the  peculiar  purposes  to  which  they  are  devoted? 

The  advent  of  railway  communication  with  the  outside 
world,  and  the  influx  of  "Gentiles"  (to  use  the  word  by 
which  Mormons  designate  believers  in  other  faiths  than  their 
own)  during  the  last  few  years,  have  wrought  many  changes 
in  Salt  Lake  City,  but  there  still  remain  sufficient  evidences 
of  the  old  life  to  attract  the  curious  eye,  while  the  substance, 
of  which  they  are  the  outward  apparel,  must  yet  repel  the 
discriminating  and  healthful  mind. 

,Every  visitor  should  spend  a  Sunday  in  the  city  and 
attend  the  afternoon  service  at  the  Tabernacle.  That  extra- 
ordinary building,  with  its  vast  congregation,  variously  com- 
puted at  from  8,000  to  13,000  people;  the  organ,  choir,  hymns 
and  the  character  of  the  music;  the  breaking  of  bread  by  the 
priesthood — not  after  the  order  of  Melchisedec — the  fervid 
addresses,  usually  directed,  and  with  astonishing  plausibility, 
to  establishing  the  identity  of  the  Church  of  Latter-Day 
Saints  with  the  Zion  of  prophecy,  cannot  fail  to  impress, 
more  or  less  powerfully,  every  thoughtful  visitor,  even  though 
his  judgment  condemns  them  as  the  instruments  of  a  gigantic 
imposture. 

Besides  visiting  that   magnificent    gothic  temple,  which 


14  HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA. 

has  already  cost  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars,  and  the 
completion  of  which,  even  in  the  remote  future,  is  exceed- 
ingly problematical;  the  house  built  by  Brigham  Young  for 
his  favorite  wife,  and  known  as  the  Amelia  Palace;  those 
extensive  business  premises  surmounted  with  the  cabalistic 
letters  Z.  C.  M.  I.  (Zion's  Co-operative  Mercantile  Institu- 
tion), and  Fort  Douglas,  whose  guns  are  always  pointed  in 
the  direction  of  the  city,  the  visitor  should  by  all  means 
take  a  trip  to  that  delightful  bathing  resort  which  he  passed 
on  his  journey  from  Ogden. 

It  now  only  remains  to  be  stated  that  Salt  Lake  City 
contains  at  least  three  excellent  hotels,  and  that  guidebooks, 
photographs  and  carnages,  and  also  biographical  sketches 
of  the  founders  and  leaders  of  Mormonism  may  be  obtained 
in  the  city. 

Resuming  our  journey  eastward,  with  the  wild  and  pictur- 
esque Wahsatch  Range  on  the  left  and  the  broad  expanse  of 
the  Great  Salt  Lake  to  the  right,  we  see  how,  not  by  the 
miraculous  interposition  of  Providence,  as  is  asserted,  but 
simply  by  tillage  and  irrigation,  a  wilderness  has  literally 
been  turned  into  standing  water  and  the  dry  ground  into 
watersprings,  and  the  desert  been  made  to  rejoice  and  blos- 
som as  the  rose.  Mormon  settlements,  surrounded  by  fields 
and  orchards  in  the  highest  state  of  cultivation,  extend  along 
the  valley  for  many  miles;  and  opportunities  for  sampling  the 
fruits  of  Mormon  husbandry  are  afforded  us  by  the  bright- 
eyed  children,  who,  with  baskets  of  strawberries,  raspberries, 
currants,  apples,  or  whatever  else  may  be  in  season,  come 
down  to  the  different  stations  to  meet  the  train.  One  of  the 
pleasantest  little  towns  on  this  division  of  the  railway,  and 
one,  moreover,  that  is  somewhat  of  a  summer  resort  for  the 
well-to-do  people  of  the  valley,  besides  having  an  excellent 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA.  15 

dining  station,  is  Provo.  A  short  distance  westward  from  this 
point  may  be  seen  the  beautiful  Utah  Lake,  a  large  body  of 
fresh  water,  which,  answering  to  the  Lake  of  Tiberias,  as  the 
Great  Salt  Lake  corresponds  to  the  Dead  Sea,  the  connecting 
stream  being  in  each  case  the  River  Jordan,  completes  an 
analogy  to  which  the  Mormon  leaders  point  as  indicative 
that  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  Divine  plan  and  purpose 
that  this  beautiful  valley,  this  Deseret,  the  Land  of  the  Honey 
Bee,  has  become  the  abode  of  the  Zion  of  the  Latter  Day. 

At  this  stage  of  the  journey  the  traveler  will  do  well  to 
possess  himself  of  a  copy  of  Mr.  Ernest  Ingersoll's  charming 
work,  "The  Crest  of  the  Continent,"  which  he  can  procure 
on  the  train  for  one  dollar,  handsomely  bound  in  cloth, 
and  which  he  will  find  not  only  a  detailed  and  most  helpful 
guidebook,  covering  the  next  700  miles  of  his  journey,  but 
also  one  of  the  most  delightful  pieces  of  descriptive  writing 
in  the  English  language. 

We  are  now  approaching  the  great  mountain  system  of 
the  continent,  perhaps,  all  things  considered,  the  greatest  in 
the  world.  Three  gigantic  barriers,  necessitating  the  ascent 
of  the  train  to  elevations  of  7,465,  10,852  and  7,238  feet,  have, 
one  after  another,  to  be  surmounted,  while  others  are 
penetrated  through  those  tremendous  cafions  which  are  so 
remarkable  a  feature  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  system.  The 
ascent  of  the  first  of  these  mighty  bulwarks  is  completed  at 
Soldier  Summit,  ninety  miles  east  of  Salt  Lake  City.  The 
scenery,  although  exceedingly  picturesque,  but  dimly  fore- 
shadows those  sublime  works  of  the  Creator  upon  which  it 
will  soon  be  our  privilege  to  gaze. 

Within  little  more  than  an  hour,  however,  of  our  beginning 
the  descent  of  the  eastern  slope  of  this  range,  there  breaks 
upon  our  astonished  and  delighted  vision  one  of  the  grandest 


l6  HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA. 

single  objects  in  this  entire  mountain  world.  This  is  Castle 
Gate,  the  western  entrance  to  Price  River  Cafion.  It  consists 
of  two  immense  projections  from  the  walls  of  the  cafion, 
composed  of  solid  rock  richly  dyed  with  red,  and  of  almost 
geometrical  regularity.  One  of  them  is  800  feet,  and  the 
other  500  feet,  in  height,  and  they  approach  each  other  so 
closely  as  to  leave  space  only  for  the  river — a  mere  moun- 
tain stream — and  a  single  line  of  rails  to  pass  between.  It  is 
not,  let  it  be  understood,  only  a  momentary  glimpse  we  get 
of  this  sublime  object.  We  are  traveling  over  the  great 
scenic  line  of  America,  and  at  this  and  various  other  points 
of  interest,  far  removed  from  all  human  habitation,  the  train 
is  brought  to  a  stand,  if  not  for  so  long  a  time  as  we  could 
wish,  at  least  long  enough  to  admit  of  the  formation  of 
impressions  to  be  called  up  in  years  to  come  with  ever- 
increasing  delight.  l 

Pursuing  our  way  through  the  winding  canon,  with  its 
lofty  and  precipitous  walls,  the  yari-colored  metalliferous 
strata  which  lie  exposed,  and  its  sculptured  rocks,  the  result 
of  who  shall  say  how  many  thousand  years  of  elemental 
strife,  we  debouch  at  length  upon  the  broad  valley  of  Green 
River,  a  stream  of  considerable  magnitude,  whose  waters, 
united  with  those  of  Grand  River,  form,  fifty  miles  below,  the 
far-famed  Colorado.  As  the  sun  sinks  into  the  West,  we  find 
ourselves  amid  a  scene  surpassing  in  weirdness  any  we  have 
yet  experienced.  Almost  entirely  destitute  of  vegetation 
and  apparently  as  arid  as  the  Nevada  desert,  the  ground, 
nevertheless,  everywhere  bears  evidence  of  the  action  of 
water,  exerted  upon  it,  doubtless  at  long  intervals,  but  mani- 
festly with  terrific  force.  On  the  north,  at  a  distance  of  only 
a  few  miles,  rises  that  remarkable  formation,  the  Roan  or 
Book  Mountains;  and  as  we  scan  the  southern  horizon  we  can 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA.  i; 

distinguish  the  snowy  peaks  of  the  volcanic  Sierra  La  Sal  and 
the  jagged  walls  of  the  Grand  Cafion  of  the  Colorado.  The 
writer,  having  fortunately  provided  himself  with  a  compass, 
was  able  to  determine  the  identity  of  the  various  mountain 
ranges  and  prominent  peaks  that  came  into  view  from  time 
to  time,  by  reference  to  one  or  another  of  those  excellent 
maps  by  which  the  various  publications  of  the  railway 
company  are  accompanied,  and  he  would  recommend  future 
travelers  similarly  to  equip  themselves.  In  this  connection 
it  may  be  stated  that,  while  the  conditions  under  which  this 
long  railway  journey  is  made  are  such  as  to  render  anything 
like  a  special  outfit  wholly  unnecessary,  a  binocular,  a  pair 
of  goggles,  a  bottle  of  perfume  and,  as  already  stated,  a 
compass,  will  be  found  to  contribute  materially  to  the  sum 
total  of  possible  satisfaction  and  enjoyment. 

From  Grand  Junction  (see  footnotes)  to  Glenwood 
Springs,  a  ride  of  about  three  hours,  our  course  parallels,  for 
the  most  part,  the  picturesque  windings  of  the  Grand  River, 
and  carries  us  past  a  constant  succession  of  enchanting 
mountain,  valley  and  river  views.  At  Glenwood  a  practical 
exemplification  of  that  untiring,  ceaseless  energy  which  has 


At  Grand  Junction,  291  miles  eastward  from  Salt  Lake  City,  the 
narrow  gauge  system  starts  from  the  main  line  and,  after  passing 
through  the  gloomy  depths  of  the  Black  Canon  and  over  the  dizzy 
heights  of  Marshall  Pass,  again  unites  with  the  standard  gauge  track  at 
Salida,  208  miles  distant. 

The  interest  of  the  traveler  by  this  alternative  route  is  well  sustained, 
from  the  moment  of  departure  from  Grand  Junction,  by  the  wonderful 
fertility  of  the  Gunnison  Valley  and  the  fine  views  to  be  had  of  the 
Uncompahgre  Range  to  the  southwest;  and  the  few  hours  which  must 
elapse  before  reaching  the  Black  Canon  are  passed  most  agreeably. 
In  the  Black  Canon  of  the  Gunnison  is  witnessed  one  of  the  most 
stupendous  and  awe-inspiring  scenes  in  the  world;  in  the  depths  of  this 
profound  gorge,  between  perpendicular  walls  of  solid  granite  rising 
1,000,  1,500,  even  2,000  feet,  has  been  laid  this  great  connecting  link 


18 


HOMKWARP    THROUGH    AMERICA. 


made  America  famed  the  world  over,  is  afforded  us.  The 
ground  whereon  is  built  this  charming  sanitarium,  which  has 
an  all-the-year-round  population  of  3,000  souls,  and  pos- 
sesses all  the  requisites  of  civilized  life,  was,  until  1887,  the 
location  of  an  Indian  reservation.  Its  situation,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Grand  and  Roaring  Forks  Rivers,  and  in  the 
shadow  of  a  towering  range  of  mountains,  is  exquisite,  and 
its  attractions,  which  include  numer- 
ous springs  pouring  out  a 
large  volume  of  medic- 
inal waters,  ranging 
in  temperature  from 
icv  cold  to  boiling 


hot,  a  com- 
pletely equipped  plunge 
bath  (said  to  be  the  largest 
in  the  world),  fed  by  a  spring 
which  gives   a   vast   quantity  of  hot   water,  and  a  cave  in 

between  East  and  West.  Of  the  special  features  of  this  most  magnifi- 
cent canon,  the  most  impo  tant  is  the  Currecanti  Needle,  a  huge  granite 
monolith  which  rises  from  the  very  mu./1 :  of  the  gorge.  At  Sargent, 
thirty  miles  distant,  begins  the  most  exhilarating  and  inspiring  railway 
ride  in  the  world — the  ascent  of  the  main  range  of  the  mountains. 
The  train  having  been  divided  into  two  sections,  each  drawn  by  two 
powerful  ten-wheeled  engines,  the  ascent  of  the  far-famed  Marshall 


HOMKXYAKD    THROUGH    AMERICA,  IQ 

\vhich  one  may  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a  natural  Russian  bath, 
arc  such  as  to  well  repay  a  stop-over  of  some  duration. 

The  journey  from  Glcnwood  eastward  is  a  constant  suc- 
cession of  alluring  scenes,  and  one  would  almost  think  that 
this  one  region  had  been  made  the  treasurehouse,  the 
gallery  of  Nature's  marvels.  Sparkling  torrents,  cloud-pierc- 
ing peaks  and  verdure-clad  valleys  intermingle  and  form  a 
vista  of  entrancing  loveliness,  the  recollection  of  which 
haunts  us  in  far-distant  days.  Almost  before  the  expressions 
of  delight  which  the  contemplation  of  Mount  Sopris,  seen 
immediatly  after  leaving  Glenwood,  has  evoked,  have  grown 
dim  upon  our  ears,  we  plunge  into  the  Stygian  darkness  of 
the  tunnel  that  heralds  our  entrance  to  the  canon  of  the 
Grand  River,  a  fit  rival,  in  its  weird  formations,  its  vivid 
colorings  and  its  extent,  to  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Arkan- 
sas, beyond  Salida.  The  panoramic  views  with  which  our 
course  has,  until  now,  been  girt  about,  are  utterly  shut  out  by 
the  great  walls,  soaring  heavenward  on  either  side  to  a 
height  of  from  1,500  to  2,500  feet.  The  course  of  the  rail- 
way through  this  canon,  sixteen  miles  in  length,  lies  through 
three  tunnels,  and  so  great  is  the  tension  upon  the  faculties, 
it  is  with  a  feeling  almost  of  relief  that  we  defile  through 

Pass  commences.  For  a  time  it  is  but  moderately  steep,  but  soon 
the  sullen  roar  of  the  engines  proclaims  how  tremendous  is  the  strain 
upon  them.  As  a  higher  elevation  is  attained,  the  line  begins  to  wind 
around  the  mountain  sides.  Onward  and  upward  it  goes,  along  narrow 
ledges  of  rock,  through  cuttings  hewn  in  solid  stone,  past  clumps  of 
stunted  trees  and  banks  of  everlasting  snow.  Higher  and  higher  it 
climbs!  It  seems  as  though  the  summit  never  would  be  gained;  but,  at 
last,  the  train  comes  to  a  stand  at  an  elevation  of  10,852  feet  above 
mean  sea-level.  The  delay,  however,  is  but  for  a  few  moments.  The 
caution  with  which  the  descent  of  the  mountains  is  made  could  not  be 
exceeded.  Slowly  the  train  feels  its  way,  and  one  has  ample  time  to 
gaze  at  will  upon  the  magnificent  scenery  of  the  east  slope,  with  the 
bold  outlines  of  the  great  Sangre  de  Christo  Range  standing  out  against 


2O  HOMEWARD   THKOUC.H    AMERICA. 

the  "  Portals,"  and  the  vision  again  feasts  at  will  on  more 
congenial  sights. 

In  the  caHon  of  the  Eagle  River,  four  miles  west  of  Red 
Cliff,  we  see  not  alone  a  wondrous  work  of  Nature,  but 
also  an  evidence  of  human  achievement,  for  high  above  our 
heads,  so  high  in  fact,  that  they  resemble  the  nests  of  some 
great  birds  of  air,  are  the  shaft  houses  and  duellings  of 
miners.  At  Tennessee  Pass  we  scale  the  continental  divide, 
and  from  its  crest  we  obtain  an  excellent  view  of  the  Mount 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  upon  whose  scarred  bosom  splendidly 
gleams  the  snow-white  emblem  of  the  Christian  faith. 

Leadville,  but  a  few  minutes  from  Tennessee  Pass,  is  at 
once  the  highest  city  and  the  greatest  mining  camp  in  the 
world,  and  the  metamorphosis  which  she  has  witnessed  in 
her  short  life  is  wonderful;  the  pell-mell  rush  that  followed 
the  discovery  of  silver  in  1879  almost  equaled  in  wild  energy 
that  of  the  Californian  days  of  '49.  The  incidents  which 
attended  her  infancy  beggar  description;  lawlessness  ran 
riot,  human  life  was  the  least  valuable  of  commodities,  and 
Leadville  attained  an  unenviable  notoriety.  Gradually, 
however,  reason  prevailed,  order  again  assumed  sway,  and 
Leadville  blossomed  into  a  metropolis  of  the  mountains. 
Her  output  of  silver  during  her  twelve  years  of  existence 
has  exceeded  in  value  no  less  a  sum  than  .£32,000,000. 

Leaving   Leadville,   we   whirl    rapidly   by   Twin    Lakes, 


the  sky.  The  most  wonderful  engineering  skill  is  manifest  at  every 
turn.  Men  have  immortalized  themselves  by  far  smaller  achievements 
than  that  of  constructing  a  railway  across  these  tremendous  heights, 
and  yet  the  name  of  the  engineer  is  never  heard.  At  length  the  tension 
of  mind  and  feeling  is  relaxed,  and  the  peculiar  effect  of  the  highly 
rarefied  atmosphere  also  passes  away.  By  grades  of  220  feet  to  the 
mile — one  in  every  twenty-four — 3,000  feet  or  more  have  been  descended. 
Soon  Salid.-i  is  reached,  and  the  junction  with  the  main  line  is  effected. 


I  ii)M  i:\VARD   THROUGH    AMERICA. 


21 


whose  peaceful  slumbers  are  watched  over  by  those  grim 
sentinels,  Mounts  Elbert  and  La  Plata,  past  lovely  Bueno. 
Vista— worthy  of  more  than  passing  notice— and,  through 
scenes  of  surpassing  beauty,  we  approach  Salida. 

The  Grand  Caflon  and  Royal  Gorge  of  the  Arkansas  is 
entered  soon  after  we  leave  Salida,  and  a  constant  succession 
of  magnificent  views  is  afforded  us  as  the  train  sweeps 
onward  in  company  with  that  turbulent 
river  which  has  for  ages  made  its 
pathway  through  this  lone 
cafion.  It  is  near  its 
^astern  end,  where  its 
depth  is  the  most 
profound  and  its  walls 
are  the  most 
precipitous,  that 
the  canon  has 
earned  the  title 
of  the  Royal 
Gorge.  Here, 
in  an  abysmal 
L  chasm,  into  which 
the  sun's  rays 


the  ponderous  locomo- 
^^  tive  and  its  train  of  cars, 
which,  if  visible  at  all  from  the  tremendous  heights  of  the 
overhanging  mountains,  must  look  like  the  playthings  of 
pigmies,  daily  take  their  way.  If  one  could  make  ever  so 
brief  a  stay  here,  it  might  be  possible,  by  ransacking  the 
storehouse  of  rugged,  glowing  and  impressive  vocables,  to 
present  a  picture  of  this  overmastering  gorge  not  entirely 


22  HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA. 

without  correspondence  to  the  great  original.  But  rushing 
onward  as  we  are,  the  mind  is  utterly  overwhelmed  ;  and 
the  impressions  carried  away,  notwithstanding  that  we  travel 
in  a  specially  designed  observation  car,  are  not  such  as  to 
enable  us  to^do  justice  to  the  magnificent  scenery  revealed 
to  us  as  the  train  speeds  on  its  way. 

Emerging  from  the  cafion,  we  come  to  Cafion  City,  where 
is  situated  the  State  (Colorado)  Penitentiary,  whose  grim 
walls  are  paced  by  well-armed  guards,  like  some  famous 
stronghold  in  time  of  war.  A  further  run  of  forty  miles 
brings  us  to  Pueblo,  an  old  Spanish  town,  from  which  a 
branch  line  extends  southward  to  the  ancient  city  of  Santa 
Fe".  Continuing  eastward,  we  obtain  fine  views  of  the  main 
range  of  the  mountains,  including  not  a  few  peaks  between 
14,000  and  15,000  feet  in  height. 

At  Colorado  Springs,  a  beautifully-situated,  handsomely- 
laid-out  and  well-built  town,  in  great  favor  as  a  summer 
resort,  we  have  to  decide  whether  we  will  retain  our  seats 
and  proceed  direct  to  Denver  or  pay  a  brief  visit  to  Manitou 
for  Pike's  Peak  and  the  Garden  of  the  Gods.  Manitou,  the 
virtue  of  whose  healing  waters  led  th5  Indians  in  days  gone 
by  to  bestow  upon  it  the  name  of  the  Great  Spirit  himself,  is 
only  six  miles  from  Colorado  Springs,  from  which  it  is 
approached  by  a  branch  line,  the  trains  connecting  with 
those  of  the  main  line.  It  is  well  worthy  of  a  visit,  not  only 
on  its  own  account,  but  also  as  the  most  convenient  point 
from  which  to  visit  one  of  the  highest  peaks  in  the  United 
States,  as  well  as  one  of  the  most  weird  and  romantic  spots 
in  the  world.  Its  hotel  accommodations  leave  absolutely 
nothing  to  be  desired,  and  the  facilities  for  visiting  the 
various  points  of  interest  in  the  vicinity  are  equally  good. 
No  one  need  shrink  from  the  ascent  of  Pike's  Peak.  The 


MOUNT    OF    THE     HOLY    CROSS, 

COLORADO. 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA.  23 

recently  completed  railway  from  Manitou  to  the  summit,  a 
distance  of  nine  miles,  enables  one  to  make  the  ascent  in 
ease  and  comfort;  so  thoroughly,  in  fact,  have  the  elements 
of  fatigue  and  exposure  been  eliminated,  that  a  drive  along 
Rotten  Row,  of  a  Saturday,  is,  by  comparison,  almost  an 
adventurous  undertaking.  No  trip  across  the  continent  can 
be  said  to  be  complete  without  the  ascent  of  this  most 
famous  of  all  the  Rocky  Mountain  peaks,  piercing  the  clouds 
at  an  altitude  of  14,217  feet.  Had  the  writer,  on  reaching 
the  pinnacle,  found  that  billowy  sea  of  mountains  surround- 
ing him,  about  which  he  had  heard  and  read  so  much;  shut 
out  from  his  gaze  by  unbidden  and  remorseless  clouds,  he 
would  have  been  more  than  content  with  the  infinitely  beau- 
tiful series  of  views  he  had  had  during  the  course  of  his 
ascent.  But  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  able  to  survey 
from  that  high  point  the  entire  range  from  Wyoming  to  the 
Spanish  peaks  in  New  Mexico,  and  also  the  vast  plain  of 
Nebraska,  stretching  away  eastward  toward  the  Missouri 
River.  Newspaper  controversialists  who  have  argued,  as 
though  it  were  a  matter  of  great  moment,  the  rival  claims  of 
the  Cat  and  Fiddle  on  Axe  Edge  and  the  Travelers'  Rest 
on  Kirkstone  Pass,  both  of  which  fall  short  of  1,800  feet  in 
height,  to  be  the  highest  inhabited  point  in  England,  may 
be  interested  in  knowing  that  on  the  summit  of  this  moun- 
tain, three  and  one-fourth  times  the  height  of  Ben  Nevis,  two 
and  one-half  times  that  of  the  Rigi  and  3,000  feet  higher 
than  the  supposed  final  resting-place  of  the  Ark,  the  United 
States  government  has  established  a  signal  service  station, 
or  meteorological  observatory. 

The  Garden  of  the  Gods  and  Glen  Eyrie,  which  consti- 
tute, with  Pike's  Peak,  the  chief  attractions  of  the  locality, 
are  reached  by  a  pleasant  carriage  road.  They  are  famed 


24  HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA. 

for  their  richly-colored  rocks,  which,  carved  by  nature  into 
the  most  grotesque  and  unearthly  shapes,  impart  a  singularly 
weird  aspect  to  an  otherwise  tranquil  and  beautiful  scene. 

Resuming  our  journey  eastward,  we  speedily  reach  Pal- 
mer Lake,  an  exquisitely  beautiful  sheet  of  water  on  the 
summit  of  a  "divide"  7,238  feet  in  altitude.  This  and  Castle 
Rock,  a  picturesque,  mass  of  sandstone  rising  abruptly  from 
the  plain,  and  consequently  certain  to  attract  the  attention 
of  travelers,  are  the  only  remaining  objects  of  interest  before 
night  comes  on,  and  we  run  into  the  great  union  depot  at 
Denver. 

Probably  there  are  few  English  travelers  passing  through 
Denver  who  are  not  more  or  less  exercised  in  their  minds  as 
to  whether  they  should  break  their  journey  at  that  city. 
They  have  heard  of  Denver,  certainly,  but  their  idpas  con- 
cerning it  are  more  or  less  vague.  For  the  benefit  of  such 
travelers,  the  writer  would  say  that  he  spent  twenty-four 
hours  there  very  pleasantly,  and  could  have  enjoyed  a  longer 
visit.  To  begin  with,  it  is  one  of  the  magic  cities  of  the 
West,  its  population  having  increased  from  4,759  to  140,000 
within  twenty  years.  It  is  also  an  exceedingly  handsome 
city  and  finely  situated,  enjoying  those  commanding  views 
of  the  mountains  to  which  reference  has  already  been  made. 
Again,  it  is  one  of  the  few  cities  that  are  at  once  the  judicial 
and  commercial  capitals  of  their  respective  States,  and  what 
is  much  more  to  the  point,  it  is  the  metropolis  of  the  mining 
industry  of  Colorado,  the  leading  interest  in  the  State.  As 
such  it  has  its  smelting  furnaces  and  reduction  works,  which 
are  of  great  interest,  and  are  readily  shown  to  such  visitors 
as  present  satisfactory  credentials.  It  is,  once  more,  the  best 
place  in  the  entire  country  at  which  to  purchase  mineralog- 
ical  specimens.  Travelers  desiring  specimens  proper  to  the 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA.  25 

Rocky  Mountains  should  buy  them  in  the  rough,  for  the 
crosses,  anchors  and  other  artistic  arrangements  sold  as  such 
are,  the  writer  learned,  of  German  manufacture  and  more 
properly  representative  of  the  mineralogy  of  the  Hartz 
Mountains  than  of  that  of  the  Rockies.  Denver  has  excel- 
lent hotels  and  some  exceedingly  fine  public  buildings. 

The  next  stage  of  our  journey,  1,025  miles  in  length,  is 
from  Denver  to  Chicago.  Beginning  175  miles  west  of  the 
eastern  boundary  of  Colorado,  it  extends  across  the  three 
great  States  of  Nebraska,  Iowa  and  Illinois.  Here  the  chief 
features  of  interest  are  the  rapid  development  of  agricul- 
tural capabilities,  the  towns  and  cities  that  are  springing  up 
"swellin'  wisibly  before  our  wery  eyes;"  the  magnitude  of 
actual  production  in  the  fully  developed  sections  of  country; 
the  two  mighty  rivers  that  go  rolling  down  from  the  snow- 
fed  fountains  of  the  far  North  to  the  spicy  groves  of  the 
subtropics,  and  the  wonderful  city  of  Chicago. 

The  prospect  that  greets  us  when  we  look  out,  the  morn- 
ing after  leaving  Denver,  is  almost  startling  in  the  contrast  it 
presents  to  each  and  all  the  varied  scenes  we  have  passed 
through  since  leaving  San  Francisco.  The  sharp  outlines  of 
the  Rocky  mountains,  with  which  we  have  become  so  happily 
familiar,  hours  ago  sank  below  the  horizon.  The  country  is 
the  rolling  prairie  of  western  Nebraska,  drained  by  the  Re- 
publican River  and  known  generally  as  the  Republican  Valley. 
It  was  formerly  one  of  the  greatest  stock  regions  in  the  entire 
country,  but  it  is  now,  the  writer  learned,  being  rapidly  set- 
tled up  by  small  farmers,  who  have  exercised  their  privilege 
of  taking  up  land  under  the  liberal  land  laws  of  the  country. 
Leaving  the  Republican  Valley  at  Oxford  Junction,  the  rail- 
way rises  some  300  feet  to  the  level  of  a  magnificent  plateau, 
stretching  away  to  the  horizon,  and,  save  at  long  intervals, 


26 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA. 


unbroken,  except  by  an  occasional  group  of  farm  buildings 
and  the  scanty  timber  which  fringes  the  margins  of  its  water 
courses.  It  has,  however,  its  shipping  and  distributing 
points,  at  each  of  which  there  are  to  be  found  a  bank,  a  grain 
elevator,  an  hotel,  a  livery  stable  and  one  or  two  general 
stores,  carrying  limited 
stocks  of  pretty  nearly 
everything.  Towns  of 
three  or  four  years' 
growth  have  as  many 
banks  as  they  are 
years  old.  They  have 
churches  of  all  denomi- 
nations and  public  school 
buildings  that,  externally  at 
least,  would  be  a  credit  to 
places  ten  times  their  size. 
According  to  an  intelligent  farmer,  traveling  to  Lincoln  to 
buy  agricultural  machinery,  there  are  still  in  the  western 
and  west  central  portions  of  the  State  extensive  tracts  of  fine 
agricultural  land  which  can  be  bought  for  as  low  as  five 
dollars  an  acre.  In  the  eastern  half,  however,  the  land  is 
largely  under  cultivation,  and  as  the  eye  wanders  over  illim- 
itable fields  of  ripening  grain,  we  begin  to  appreciate  the 
claim  of  the  Western  States  and  to  have  a  better  under- 
standing of  those  long  lines  of  figures  which  we  see  quoted 
from  time  to  time  as  the  measure  of  their  products.  Still 
we  do  not  realize  their  full  significance  without  the  help  of 
some  such  statement  as  recently  appeared  in  a  leading 
agricultural  journal,  which  stated  that  the  corn  (maize)  crop 
alone  of  this  State  of  Nebraska  would  fill  a  solid  freight 
(goods)  train  2,000  miles  in  length,  or  if  placed  upon  farm 


THE    HORSESHOE     FALL    FROM     GOAT    ISLAND, 

EACHED      BY      THE      "BURLINGTON      ROUTE"      AND      ALLIED      LINES. 


I 

• 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA.  2J 

wagons  would  make  a  procession  reaching  around  the  world 
at  the  equator. 

The  State  has  for  its  capital  the  handsome  city  of  Lin- 
coln, through  which  we  pass  early  in  the  afternoon.  The 
State  Capitol,  with  its  imposing  dome,  and  the  fine  buildings 
of  the  State  University,  are  all  noticeable  objects  from  the 
railway.  Fifty-five  miles  more,  and  we  reach,  on  the  very 
confines  of  the  State,  the  great  city  of  Omaha,  finely  situated 
on  the  Missouri  River.  Omaha  is  the  most  populous  city  on 
the  line  from  San  Francisco  to  Chicago;  it  has  an  immense 
wholesale  trade,  important  manufactures,  large  smelting  and 
reduction  works  and  extensive  stock-yards  and  packing 
houses.  Leaving  Omaha,  a  rapid  run  of  twenty-one  miles 
along  the  right  bank  of  the  Missouri  brings  us  to  the  cross- 
ing of  that  famous  river,  the  boundary  line  between  Ne- 
braska and  Iowa.  It  is  not,  however,  by  a  transfer  boat  that 
the  train  is  conveyed  across  its  muddy  and  turbulent  waters, 
but  by  a  magnificent  bridge  3,000  feet  in  length.  This  great 
triumph  of  engineering  skill  consists  of  two  main  spans, 
each  402  feet  long;  three  others,  each  204  feet;  an  iron 
viaduct  of  1,320  feet,  and  an  approach  on  the  west  side  of 
264  feet.  Its  fine  proportions,  for  it  is  as  graceful  as  it  is 
substantial,  may  be  seen  to  advantage  from  the  left  side  of 
the  car  immediately  before  you  pass  on  to  it  from  the  west 
bank.  The  volume  of  water,  which  averages  750,000  gallons 
per  second,  decreases  so  rapidly  after  the  end  of  June  that 
the  river  shrinks  to  comparatively  insignificant  dimensions, 
and  no  uninformed  traveler,  seeing  it  at  that  time,  would 
suppose  that  for  several  months  of  the  year  it  was  navigated 
by  large  steamers  2,343  miles  above  this  point. 

Crossing  Iowa  during  the  night,  the  traveler  sees  but  little 
of  the  State,  unless  he  exercises  his  privilege  of  breaking 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA. 

his  journey.  That  the  writer  did  not  do,  having  learned 
beforehand  that,  so  far  as  the  State  is  of  interest  to  the  gen- 
eral traveler,  it  differs  but  little  from  northern  Illinois, 
which  he  would  be  traversing  next  day.  But  he  woke  up  in 
the  morning  just  in  time  to  see  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
picturesque  of  its  cities,  Burlington,  on  the  Mississippi, 
which  river  is  for  365  miles  the  boundary  of  the  State  on  the 
east,  just  as  the  Missouri  is  for  364  miles  on  the  west.  Here, 
spanning  the  great  Father  of  Waters,  is  another  magnificent 
bridge,  consisting  of  six  spans  of  250  feet  each,  one  of  200 
feet  and  one  of  175  feet,  with  a  draw  span  of  362  feet,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  2,237  feet-  The  Mississippi  does  not  fall  so 
low  in  summer  as  does  the  Missouri,  and  its  banks  being 
richly  wooded,  it  presents  a  finer  appearance  than  its  great 
tributary. 

Between  Burlington  and  Chicago  are  206  miles  of  the 
most  highly-cultivated  and  prosperous-looking  country,  and 
withal  the  most  picturesque,  for  an  agricultural  region,  it  was 
ever  the  writer's  privilege  to  travel  through.  In  the  gently 
undulating  prairie,  diversified  with  handsome  groves  of  trees, 
against  whose  dark  foliage  stand  out  the  cosy  white  home- 
steads and  great  red  barns  of  prosperous  farmers,  in  whom 
we  see  the  brave-hearted  pioneers  of  thirty  years  ago,  we 
have  a  picture  of  Arcadian  beauty  it  would  be  impossible  to 
surpass.  Hour  after  hour  we  travel  onward  through  the 
granary  of  the  world,  until  we  are  reminded  that  we  are 
approaching  its  famous  metropolis,  the  most  wonderful  of 
modern  cities,  by  the  usual  outward  indications  of  a  great 
center  of  population. 

Although  Chicago  is  by  no  means  the  only  city  in  Amer- 
ica that  is  of  phenomenal  growth,  we  seek  in  vain,  either  in 
the  Old  or  New  World,  the  present  or  the  past,  for  an  equally 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA.  2Q 

marvelous  example  of  rapid  expansion.  The  beginning  of 
the  present  century  found  its  site  merely  a  swamp,  without 
even  a  solitary  pioneer;  the  year  that  witnessed  the  acces- 
sion of  Queen  Victoria  saw  a  charter  of  incorporation  granted 
to  it  as  a  little  town  of  3,000  inhabitants;  when  the  Great 
Exhibition  of  1851  was  attracting  all  nations  to  its  peaceful 
congress,  its  population  was  but  34,437.  But  with  the 
advent  of  railways  its  splendid  career  began,  and  we  see  it 
to-day  the  greatest  railroad  center,  live  stock  market  and 
primary  grain  port  in  the  world,  and  the  home  of  more  than 
a  million  of  the  most  energetic  and  enterprising  people 
anywhere  to  be  found.  Of  its  almost  total  destruction  by 
fire  when  it  was  a  city  as  large  as  the  Sheffield  of  to-day;  of 
its  magnificent  park  and  boulevard  system;  its  immense 
stock-yards  and  the  incredible  number  of  live  stock  handled 
there  daily;  its  packing-houses,  in  a  single  one  of  which, 
employing  6,000  men,  the  manufacture  of  50,000  pounds  of 
sausage  per  day  is  a  matter  entirely  incidental  to  the  main 
business  of  the  establishment,  and  in  which,  as  is  so  graph- 
ically described  by  Mr.  Phil  Robinson,  an  obstreperous  and 
squeaking  pig  is  killed,  cleaned,  cooled,  weighed  and  made 
perfectly  ready  for  the  cook  in  thirty-five  seconds — of  these 
and  a  thousand  other  matters  that  have  an  equal  claim  upon 
our  notice  it  is  impossible  to  speak  particularly. 

No  other  evidence  is  needed  of  the  pre-eminence  that 
Chicago  is  rapidly  assuming,  if  not  already  achieved,  among 
the  cities  of  this  continent,  than  the  fact  that  it  has  been 
chosen  as  the  location  of  the  World's  Fair  of  1893,  com- 
memorative of  the  discovery  of  America.  The  buildings 
which  are  to  contain  the  offerings  of  every  nation  under  the 
sun  are  located  at  Jackson  Park,  fronting  on  Lake  Michigan, 
and  should  be  visited  by  every  traveler,  however  limited  his 


O    z 


0.    O 

<  5 

O    i 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA.  3! 

Province  of  Ontario,  where  we  are  once  more  under  the 
British  flag.  There  is  nothing,  however,  that  calls  for 
special  mention  until  we  cross  the  Welland  Canal,  constructed 
by  the  Dominion  Government  as  a  connecting  link  between 
Lakes  Erie  and  Ontario,  the  natural  outlet  from  one  to  the 
other  being  rendered  unnavigable  by  the  rapids,  whirlpool 
and  falls  of  Niagara.  Soon  the  porter's  announcement, 
"  Falls  View.  Train  stops  three  minutes,"  warns  us  that  we 
are  approaching  the  greatest  of  all  cataracts  —  that  with 
whose  name  we  have  been  familiar  from  our  earliest  days. 
In  a  moment  it  bursts  upon  us— a  resistless  flood  hurrying 
to  its  fall;  eternal  mist,  brilliant  with  prismatic  hues,  rising 
from  the  caldron  beneath;  a  majestic  anthem,  filling  our  ears 
with  its  deep  diapason.  We  see,  however,  but  little  from 
this  point  of  the  great  fall  itself,  but  in  a  few  moments  we 
see  it  in  all  its  glory  as  the  train  crosses  the  river  by  the 
Cantilever  bridge.  But  who  would  leave  Niagara  without 
lingering  for  at  least  a  few  hours  at  a  spot  of  such  surpassing 
interest?  The  views  obtained  from  the  railway  are  such 
that  the  traveler  whom  relentless  necessity  compels  to  hasten 
on  his  journey  may  justly  boast  of  having  seen  the  Falls, 
and  that  to  a  certain  advantage.  But  how  much  more  is 
he  to  be  envied  who  has  stood  upon  their  very  brink,  or 
gazed  upward  at  the  descending  avalanche  of  waters  from 
the  deck  of  the  little  Maid  of  the  Mist,  as,  quivering  and  reel- 
ing, she  has  been  skillfully  piloted  through  the  tumultuous 
maelstrom  beneath,  or  who,  still  more,  has  ^stood,  fearless 
and  resolute,  upon  that  point  of  terror,  Hurricane  bridge. 

The  journey  from  Niagara  Falls  to  New  York  City,  462 
miles,  lies  wholly  in  New  York  State,  the  richest  and  most 
populous  State  in  the  Union,  and  well  termed  the  Empire 
State.  Containing  on  our  line  of  route  great  cities  like 


32  HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA. 

Buffalo,  Rochester,  Syracuse  and  Albany— the  last-named 
the  capital  of  the  State— smaller  towns  of  lesser  note,  and 
pretty  country  villages  without  number,  with  extensive  man- 
ufactures and  a  greater  diversity  of  agriculture  than  we  have 
before  met  with,  we  find  it  one  of  the  greatest  interest  from 
beginning  to  end. 

For  135  miles,  moreover,  the  line  follows  the  windings  of 


the  Hudson  River  amid  picturesque  mountain  scenery,  in- 
cluding the  famous  Catskills,  which  are  seen  to  advantage  as 
we  look  westward  over  the  river  when  about  thirty-five  miles 
south  of  Albany.  Soon  after  passing  Fishkill  Landing  we 
enter  upon  the  gorge  known  as  the  Highlands,  the  most 
northern  point  of  which  is  the  commanding  Storm  King. 
On  the  same  side  of  the  river,  six  miles  lower  down,  occupy- 
ing a  fine  and  romantic  situation,  is  the  United  States  Military 


HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA.  33 

Academy  of  West  Point,  twenty-five  miles  below  which  we 
reach  the  basaltic  columns  known  as  the  Palisades.  Among 
the  river  cities  passed  at  intervals  are  some  of  exceedingly 
picturesque  appearance.  Among  them  may  be  mentioned 
Poughkeepsie,  with  Vassar  College  in  the  rear,  Tarrytown, 
with  its  old  Dutch  church,  and  Yonkers. 

The  Hudson  River  is  fraught  with  memories  of  the  most 
stirring  period  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  including  those  of 
the  capture,  trial  and  execution  of  Major  Andre.  It  has  also 
other  associations  of  a  happier  character,  in  those  which 
cluster  around  the  residence  of  Washington  Irving,  at 
Irvington,  that  of  N.  P.  Willis,  at  Newburgh,  and  the  scene 
of  the  legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  near  Tarrytown. 

At  Spuyten  Duyvil  the  railway  makes  a  sudden  turn  east- 
ward and  the  river  is  lost  to  view.  The  Harlem  bridge  is  in 
sight  and  the  terminus  of  the  elevated  railway — we  are  enter- 
ing New  York  I 

THROUGH   THE  ALLEGHENY   MOUNTAINS  AND  BY  THE 
NATIONAL  CAPITAL. 

In  order  that  one  may  view  by  daylight  the  Valley  of 
the  Susquehanna,  the  ascent  of  the  Alleghenies,  the  famous 
Horse  Shoe  Curve,  the  fertile  region  between  Harrisburg 
and  New  York,  and  the  numerous  other  scenic  attractions  of 
marked  beauty  along  its  lines,  east  of  Pittsburgh,  it  is  advis- 
able to  leave  Chicago  by  one  or  other  of  the  magnificent 
afternoon  express  trains  of  the  Pennsylvania  Company.  It 
may  be  stated  parenthetically  that  before  leaving  Chicago 
notification  should  be  given  the  proper  authorities  as  to 
one's  intention  of  using  the  direct  line  to  New  York  or  of 
that  by  way  of  Washington,  D.  C. 

The  tracks  of  the  Pennsylvania  Company  on  their  way  to 


34  HOMEWARD   THROUGH    AMERICA. 

the  sea  traverse  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey;  the  first  part  of  the  journey,  from  Chicago  to 
Pittsburgh,  a  distance  of  468  miles,  is  performed  during  the 
night,  and  the  country  thus  passed  over,  while  highly  inter- 
esting as  evidencing  a  marked  degree  of  prosperity,  does 
not  therefore  call  for  special  reference.  Pittsburgh,  on  the 
Ohio  River,  claims  the  distinction  of  being  the  largest  iron 
mart  in  the  world,  and  is,  despite  the  existence  of  enormous 
manufacturing  industries,  a  clean,  handsome  city  of  300,000 
inhabitants. 

After  leaving  Pittsburgh  the  train  passes  blazing  furnaces 
and  smoking  mill-stacks;  every  outlook  betokens  activity; 
here  a  little  railway  climbs  a  mountainside  to  an  ore  shaft; 
there  a  torch  of  natural  gas  flares  from  a  pipe.  Presently 
the  scene  shifts  into  the  undulating  hills  along  the  Cone- 
maugh,  that  ill-fated  stream  whose  awful  associations  are  still 
painfully  fresh  in  the  memory.  As  Johnstown  vanishes  in 
the  distance,  the  train,  with  the  assistance  of  an  extra  engine, 
steams  slowly  up  the  grade  to  Cresson — a  famous  resort  on 
the  very  crest  of  the  Alleghenies,  and  possessed  of  surround- 
ings hardly  to  be  surpassed  for  natural  beauty. 

After  passing  through  the  Allegheny  tunnel,  3,612  feet 
long,  and  situated  three  miles  east  of  Cresson,  a  precipitous 
bluff  is  rounded  and  the  train  begins  the  descent  of  the  Horse 
Shoe  Curve  where  the  engine  is  seen  across  a  deep  ravine 
moving  in  an  opposite  direction  from  the  rear  car.  The 
engineering  work  on  this  section  exhibits  the  greatest  skill 
and  daring;  the*  grades  are  heavy,  nearly  ninety  feet  to  the 
mile,  and  steam  is  shut  off  for  eleven  miles  until  Altoona  is 
reached. 

Leaving  Altoona,  the  train  descends  a  desolate  highland, 
extending  almost  until  Harrisburg  is  reached.  At  Harrisburg 


HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA.  35 

the  line  turns  to  the  south,  follows  the  right  bank  of  the 
romantic  Susquehanna,  meets  the  eastern  branch  of  the 
Potomac  and  emerges  from  a  1,500  foot  tunnel  within  sight 
of  the  white  dome  of  the  Capitol,  at  Washington. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  credit  the  assertion  that  Washington 
is  easily  the  handsomest  of  American  cities.  It  is,  for  one 
thing,  anything  but  a  commercial  or  manufacturing  center, 
and  the  absence  of  these  two  elements,  which  go  far  towards 
destroying  the  beauty  of  many  New  World  towns,  is  ex- 
tremely gratifying.  Every  visitor  should  see  the  Capitol, 
the  embodiment  of  national  majesty;  the  Washington  Monu- 
ment, reaching  skyward  to  the  height  of  555  feet;  the  White 
House,  the  home  of  the  President;  the  several  departmental 
buildings,  models  of  massive  stateliness,  and  the  Smithsonian 
Institute,  "an  establishment  for  the  increase  and  diffusion  of 
knowledge  among  men." 

New  York  is  just  five  hours  from  Washington,  and  one 
touches  en  route  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia.  The  latter  city, 
while  neither  so  populous  as  New  York,  nor  so  progressive 
as  Chicago,  is  yet  a  particularly  pleasant  town;  it  possesses 
interesting  mementoes  of  Revolutionary  days,  and  has,  aside 
from  its  many  attractions,  the  charm  of  being  within  easy 
reach  of  Atlantic  City  and  Cape  May. 


Has  not  the  great  overland  journey  by  the  Burlington 
Route  proved  to  be  one  of  such  absorbing  interest  from  first 
to  last  that,  notwithstanding  our  elation  at  the  prospect  of 
reaching  home,  we  could  almost  wish  that  it  might  be  still 
further  extended?  Have  we  not  had  innumerable  miscon- 
ceptions swept  away,  and  learned  something  of  the  greatness 
of  America  and  the  American  people?  Lord  Coleridge,  on 


36  HOMEWARD    THROUGH    AMERICA. 

the  occasion  of  his  visit  in  1883,  reminded  his  hosts  that  it 
is  not  the  mere  extent  of  their  country,  the  height  of  their 
mountains,  the  length  of  their  rivers,  nor  yet  the  immensity 
of  the  capabilities  of  the  soil  they  tread  that  makes  a  people 
great.  But  if  these  are  not  actually  among  the  chief  incen- 
tives to  enterprise  and  industry,  they  alone  have  rendered 
possible  those  great  achievements  in  engineering  science  and 
in  agriculture  which,  almost  equally  with  the  scenic  wonders 
of  the  country,  excite  the  astonishment  and  admiration  of 
transcontinental  travelers. 


